Olympic judo champions and Japanese countrymen Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii generally disposed of any grappling skills in their arsenal and elected to channel their inner-boxer in a relatively entertaining contest on New Year’s Eve – albeit one marred by a lengthy delay for an illegal blow.

The bout capped off the MMA portion of the marathon, 18-bout, seven-plus-hour “Dynamite!! 2009: DREAM vs. World Victory Road” card at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The full event aired in North America on HDNet.

The elder fighter got the best of the striking action early in the first round, and Ishii’s face showed the wear of the blows. An overhand right highlighted the assault, but Ishii withstood the attack. In the second, Ishii came alive with his own striking. Unfortunately, a painful knee to Yoshida’s cup was part of the arsenal, and it cost the fight a lengthy delay – and Ishii a point.

Yoshida’s pace never really recovered after the blow, and he began to look every bit of his 40 years. Ishii’s youth also began to show, and he came to life in the final frame. Unfortunately, the brief moments of attack consisted of largely single blows, and Ishii ultimately fell short.

Yoshida (9-7-1) was awarded the unanimous decision in what his first win since June 2008 and just his second since 2006. Meanwhile, Ishii falls to 0-1 in his professional debut.

With the score even at four fights each entering the evening’s final “DREAM vs. WVR” bout, lightweights Shinya Aoki and Mizuto Hirota entered the cage with a chance to break the deadlock.

The tie wasn’t all that would be broken.

Aoki, a submission ace, wasted little time in closing the distance and moving the fight to the floor. Once there, Aoki swarmed on the attack and immediately worked Hirota into a compromising position. With Hirota’s arm wrenched behind his back, Aoki torqued the limb and shoulder while securing mount. Unable to force a submission, Aoki turned Hirota to his back and continued to work the isolated appendage.

With a hammerlock in place, and the weight of his body against Hirota’s single arm, Aoki cranked the hold until the arm snapped. The match was immediately halted, though it was far too late to save the arm. Aoki stood up, and in a show of sportsmanship that would make Brock Lesnar blush, stuck a middle finger in the face of his injured opponent.

While Gegard Mousasi landed a few swift inside leg kicks early in his fight with MMA legend Gary Goodridge, “The Dreamcatcher” wasted little time in pulling “Big Daddy” out of his element.

A swift takedown put Goodridge on his back, and a barrage of punches followed from Mousasi. Goodridge fought out of the position, only to wind up in a similar variation. Mousasi continued to unload punches from the top, and though many didn’t seem to be offering direct contact, the bout was called to a halt.

Goodridge expressed his dismay at what he felt was a premature stoppage, and his concerns may have been valid, but he had offered nothing in the brief fight and his path to victory appeared completely unclear.

Mousasi (28-2-1) runs his current win streak to an impressive 15 contests, while Goodridge has dropped five-straight bouts and has not seen his hand raised in victory since March 2007.

Overeem cruises; “Kid” shocked; “Crusher” delivers

On paper, Alistair Overeem vs. Kazuyuki Fujita looked like an awful mismatch. In practice, it was much, much worse.

Overeem immediately seized the center of the ring as Fujita tried unsuccessfully to stick and move. The moves were slow, and the stick never came.

The Dutch striker landed a few blows in the clinch before a powerful left knee slammed across Fujita’s face and sent him toppling to the canvas. Overeem was there to follow, but it wasn’t necessary. Fujita remained on the canvas for several minutes before being removed on a stretcher.

Overeem (32-11) improved his winning streak to seven contests, while Fujita falls to just 2-5 in his past – and perhaps last – seven bouts.

While World Victory Road’s Masanori Kanehara entered his bout with Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto as the decided underdog, things quickly changed when theory turned into reality.

After surviving an early striking rush from Yamamoto, Kanehara surprisingly showed the better wrestling and took top position in rounds one and two. Unable to work from his back, Yamamoto was forced to hope for a better performance in the third.

It didn’t come.

Unleashing powerful strikes in the final frame, Yamamoto mostly missed while looking for a fight-ending shot. Once he did connect, Kanehara answered immediately back. Yamamoto threw his hands in the air to call for more as time expired, but it was too little, too late.

Kanehara (16-7-5) was awarded the unanimous decision, and he has now won five of his past six contests. The loss for Yamamoto (17-3) means “Kid” has now dropped back-to-back fights for the first time in his career.

While it’s often the powerful strikes of Tatsuya Kawajiri that guide him to victory, it was his grappling prowess that led to a one-sided win over Sengoku’s Kazunori Yokota.

Never really close to ending the fight, Kawajiri nonetheless wore down Yokota with repeated trips to the canvas and dominance in position. A rear-naked choke in the second and an arm-triangle choke in the third showed promise for Kawajiri, but Yokota gamely withstood each attempt. However, he was never able to return the favor, and Yokota found himself in a deep armbar as the final bell sounded.

In the end, the score was undeniable, and Kawajiri (26-5-2) was awarded the unanimous-decision win over Yokota (11-3-3). The victory was Kawajiri’s fourth-straight, and it evened the evening’s team-challenge score at three wins each.

Tokoro and Kim thrill; Manhoef, Gono earn stoppages

If featherweight Hideo Tokoro thought late replacement Jong Man Kim was going to prove an easier foe than original opponent Marlon Sandro, he was sadly mistaken.

While Tokoro was always in control of the contest, nearly locking in a beautiful leaping triangle choke in the first round and a deep armbar in the third, Kim refused to relent throughout the 15-minute affair. At times a grappling clinic, and at others an entertaining slugfest, the pair kept the crowd entertained throughout.

The fight was always Tokoro’s (26-21-1), but Kim (21-11-3) proved a worthy adversary in scrambling through one of the most entertaining contests of the evening.

While Dutch slugger Melvin Manhoef undeniably possesses one-punch knockout power, Kazuo Misaki probably would have preferred a chance to show his resiliency instead of relenting to a perhaps over-protective stoppage.

After a brief feeling-out process in the first round, Manhoef unleashed his trademark power punches. A left hand sent Misaki crashing to the ground, but as his butt hit the floor, he immediately tried to grab Manhoef’s leg and regain composure. Alas, it was too late, and the match referee had already called an end to the action.

Misaki popped to his feet and protested vehemently but to no avail. Manhoef (24-6-1) improved to 2-2 in his past four contests – and earned DREAM’s first team-challenge win on the night – while Misaki (22-10-2) dropped to 1-2 in his past three fights.

After Japanese legend Akihiro Gono amazed the crowd with his entrance to the ring, he did the same on said canvas in a stunning victory over fellow fan-favorite Hayato “Mach” Sakurai.

The fight opened slowly on the feet as each looked cautiously for openings. Sakurai found the most options in the first frame, but Gono halted the attacks with a well-timed slam to the canvas. Gono couldn’t take advantage of the position, but Sakurai dropped to his own back in the second, and things went differently.

Gono switched out to side control and immediately gained Sakurai’s left arm in a crucifix position. Unable to finish with punches, Gono deftly transitioned to the opposite side for an armbar, and Sakurai was forced to tap.

The win, which gave Sengoku an early 3-0 lead in the team challenge series, was Gono’s (31-15-7) second straight since breaking a three-fight losing streak. Sakurai (35-10-2) loses for the second time in as many outings.

In a bout that many observers had pegged as a potential “Fight of the Night” candidate, Sengoku’s Michihiro Omigawa and DREAM’s Hiroyuki Takaya attacked from the opening bell. However, as the frame unfolded, it was Omigawa who continued his impressive recent form.

After a failed toss attempt, Omigawa settled on a striking offense, and his hand speed became quickly evident. A barrage of punches found their mark, and though Takaya returned the favor, Omigawa’s relentless attack gained him the upper hand.

As the flurry continued, a right cross rocked Takaya, and a second sent him to the floor. Omigawa pounced for a few extra shots on the canvas to seal the result.

Despite a still-unimpressive career record, Omigawa (9-8-1) has now won five of his past six contests. Takaya (12-8-1) dropped his second-straight bout.

The night’s first “DREAM vs. Sengoku” bout kicked off with a matchup between two of the card’s most inexperienced competitors as Hiroshi Izumi met Katsuyori Shibata. The contest lacked much intrigue, and the pair elected to trade unimpressive strikes from distance rather than utilize any significant grappling.

A three-round affair, the night’s most decisive action came in the final frame. Izumi worked from mount and unleashed a flurry of shots while searching for a finish. It wouldn’t come, and Izumi (1-1) would have to settle for a decision win – his first career victory – over the less-than-impressive Shibata (4-7-1).

The win also gave Sengoku the early 1-0 lead in the evening’s team challenge matches.

The evening’s first MMA contest – and “Super Hulk” tournament final – went from intriguing to lackluster to shocking all in three quick rounds.

As expected Ikuhisa Minowa immediately looked to secure a submission on the legs of the bigger Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, but “The African Assassin” defended well and answered with several powerful punches to his downed opponent in the opening 10 minutes. Minowa briefly looked close to a knee-bar as the second round closed, but the bell sounded and left Sokoudjou up two rounds heading into the final frame.

The action stalled in the third frame, and the fighters received two yellow cards each for nearly three minutes of zero activity. But just as the Japanese crowd began to deliver a few uncharacteristic boos, “Minowman” uncorked a left hand that saw Sokoudjou buckle to his knees. While the Team Quest fighter appeared to be prepared to defend, the bout was quickly halted.

The stoppage appeared a bit early, but Sokoudjou’s complete lack of offense left him little room to complain.

After defeating Hong Man Choi and Bob Sapp, Minowa (44-30-8) – the smallest fighter in the eight-man bracket – earned the “Super Hulk” crown. Meanwhile, Sokoudjou (7-6) falls to just 2-4 in his past six contests.

The Latest

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?

Ronda Rousey’s statistical greatness has already ventured into uncharted territory – just six fights into her UFC career. Check out all the post-fight facts, including Rousey’s latest achievements, about UFC 190.